Nucs for 2022 are now on sale. Visit the Bee page for information.

Welcome to the Warm Colors Apiary website. WCA produces and sells honey, pure beeswax candles, and products using honey and beeswax. We provide pollination services to local orchards and farms. Beekeepers can purchase queens and honeybees, and attend workshops in the Warm Colors bee yards. In other words, most activities involving honeybees happen at our apiary.

We are closing the apiary on January 22nd through February 12th, 2022. We will resume taking honey orders on Tuesday February 15th.

We will continue to take orders for Nucs by mail, or through Pay-pal during the time we are closed.

We will not be available for pick ups on these dates. There will be delays returning phone calls and email messages.

COVID requirements are changing weekly and we continue to be concerned as new strains are identified. We will continue to sell directly from our Warm Colors Apiary location, but We strongly suggest that you continue to wear a mask and receive the vaccination for your protection. We will continue to conduct sales of honey, products and Queens outdoors keeping the store closed to the public. Call 413-665-4513 to place an order for honey, candles or Russian Queens. We are currently scheduling pick ups for Wednesdays & Saturdays. We will do our best to accomodate your schedule.

We continue to be so appreciative of the continued support so many of you have shown during this incredibly worrisome time. Warm Colors Apiary continues as a result of loyal customers and friends going out of your way to stay connected. Our working & living with bees, in a beautiful western Massachusetts landscape provides relief from much of the stress. Bonita and I agree we are fortunate, when others struggle with illness & finances. We belong to a community of people that pull together and help each other. That is the positive message we received during the pandemic. 

We specialize in Russian Queens as members of the Russian Honeybee Breeders Association. All our Queens come from Apiaries’ “Certified” by the RHBA Board of Directors annually. Warm Colors has been a “certified” apiary since 2016. Queens are $40.00 each. We are not shipping Queens at this time. Queens will be ready in May 2022.

Looking for more information about the Russian honeybee and the program’s history? I suggest reading “The Russian Honeybee” by Thomas Rinderer and Steven Coy. You can purchase a copy on Amazon, or better yet buy directly from Steven Coy and asked for signed copy. Call: 601-716-3080, or email: Steven@coybeecompany.com ask for the book.

Also visit the official website of the Russian Honeybee Breeders Association www.russianbreeders.org

Watch a video interview of Dan Conlon on WGBY (September 2019)

Warm Colors Apiary was founded in 2000 to produce regional honey from flowers in western Massachusetts. Located on eighty acres of woodland, open fields, and wetlands, the land provides a variety and abundance of nectar & pollen plants that bloom from early spring to late fall. Having a location with flowering plants blooming successively throughout the warm months makes our apiary ideal for honey production and the raising of honeybees.

Our mission is to develop, test, and use beekeeping methods that improve the health of the honeybee. Through selective breeding, we endeavor to manage a sustainable apiary system that minimizes the use of harmful chemicals and employs the natural defenses and heritable behaviors shown to improve the honeybee’s mite tolerance and resistance to disease.

Our goals include raising honeybees capable of surviving the rigors of a New England winter and having the individual & social immunities to withstand the stresses associated with honeybee decline. Our work focuses on using the best available breeding stock, providing natural sources of forage and nutrition, and the early detection and prevention of disease and pests. Proactive management that reduces stress and the resulting problems, before they become too serious to correct, is our long-range goal.

BEEKEEPING EVENTS

 Beekeeper Events: The Franklin County Beekeepers’ Association has started holding in-person and on-line meetings. Visit the FCBA website www.Franklinmabeekeepers.org for current information. Meetings are scheduled for the third Thursday of each month 7PM-9PM. No meetings are scheduled for December, June, or September.

FCBA uses ZOOM for some of our meetings. We have found on-line meetings to open us up to presenters too far to attend a meeting, but can still provide excellent information. We have also been able to invite FCBA members to participate in meetings hosted by other clubs statewide and nationally. Zoom is a venue that allows us to communicate beyond our local programs.

Visit the Franklin County Bee Association’s website for up to date meeting information. These events are open to all interested people. Membership to FCBA is $10. individual and $15. for a family. Visitors are always welcome.

Dan’s Public Events

Dan’s On-line Schedule: Please note you must be invited by the host or pre-register to attend these presentations. Contact the listed association to sign-up for the scheduled time & Date. Time & Date may change. Confirm with host association before signing into the presentation. Many are recorded and can be viewed at a later or more convenient time. Contact the host club for access. 

2/25 Kim Flottum’s Beekeeping Today – Podcast. Many archived interviews on a wide range of bee topics by expert sources. Open to anyone.

2/28-3/2 SEMAP Conference – recordings no longer Available.

3/9  Tennessee Bee Association TUBA – Russian Honeybees – recording available.

3/16 Medina Bee Association MCBA – Russian Honeybee Management.

3/21 Warm Colors Apiary WCA – Beginning in Beekeeping #1. – recording no longer available.

3/31 Norfolk County Bee Association NCBA – Recordkeeping – Bee School. 

7/27 Backyard Beekeepers Association BYBA – Queen Evaluation.

 We look forward to things returning to a normal and a safe schedule where we can again enjoy talking about bees and seeing friends at meetings. Franklin and Hampshire Counties has an active community of dedicated beekeepers.

       

News:

• Dan Conlon interview on “Beekeeping Today” with Kim Flottum and Jim Tew: Dan Conlon: It’s All About The Russians (Russian honey bees, that is)
• Warm Colors Apiary received the 2018 “Local Hero Award” (farmer of the year) from CISA (Community Involved in Sustainable Agriculture) and a Congressional Award recognizing Warm Colors Apiary for our outstanding and invaluable service to the community from Congressman James McGovern. Bonita & I appreciate these honors from people and organizations we respect and support. CISA and Congressman McGovern promote nutrition, farms, and access to fresh foods for all Massachusetts residents. We share their philosophy that all people deserve fresh, nutritious food. We thank CISA and Congressman McGovern for their ongoing commitment to making local food available to all citizens.

Knowledge + Management = healthy bees.

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